Fur plucking



Jan. 10, 1933. w. K. WILSON FUR PLUCKING Filed Feb 24, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet W|LLIA K. WILSON ILD Patented dan. l0, 1933 NITD S1--SyW'ILICAM K.,\,VILSO1\T, 0F NORWALK, CONNECTICUT FUR PLUCKINGApplication `filed February' 24, 1930. Serial No. 430,649.

This invention relates to fur plucking `and more particularly to amethod of and apparatus for removing the guardrhairs' from furs.

Nature has providedfur bearing animals with guard hairs. These -hairsare longer and have a different character or texture than the shorter1hairs which constitute the main body of hair of a fur or pelt. Beforethe majority of furs lmay .beused-for the garment industry or for thefelt hat industry it is necessaryto remove the guard hairs from thepelt. ln plucked furs the value of the pelts depends upon the amount offur on the hide and the thoroughness with which the guard hairs havebeen removed from the hide.

The methodsV and machines which have heretofore been used for pluckinghairs have not thoroughly removed the guard hairs, some of the machinesmerely cutting off the guard hairs and other machines have acted to pullout and cut off a part of the hair of the pelt in removing the guardhair sothat the value of the pelt was materially reduced.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a method ofand apparatus for-pinching guard hairs from a pelt by m which the hairsmay be thoroughly sepa- J" rated from the fur and effectively pulled outof the pelt without removing fur from the pelt.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of and apparatusfor plucking fur pelts by which the guard hairs may be effectivelyplaced in a position to be plucked, regardless of the mat-ted ordisheveled condition of the hair on the pelt.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method of andapparatus for plucking fur pelts by which the fur on the pelt may bearranged and restored to the condition in which it existed naturally onthe animal when alive at the time the guard hairs are being` removed.

`i/Vith these and other objects and features .in view, the inventionconsists in the method of and apparatus for pluc-king pelts hereinafterdescribed and particularly deiined'in the appended claims.

The various features of the-invention.y are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

F ig. 1 is a View in front elevation of a. fur plucking machineembodying the preferred 55 form of the invention;

F ig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section of the fur pluckingmachine;

Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional view of the plucking rolls;

Figs. 4 and 5 are detailed sectional views of the pelt guide for theplucking rolls; and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view `of apelt between the guide and pluckingrolls.

The present application constitutes a con- G5 tinuation in part of mycopending application Serial No. 244,242, filed January 8,1928, for furplucking.

To pluckk fur peltsvin accordance. with. the present invention a pelt isfirmly supported 7U on a guide and moved back and forth before a pair ofplucking rolls which grip and pull the guard hairs out of the pelt.rllhe pelt is supported upon and moved across the guide by hand and itis necessary to hold the pelt 75 firmly against the surface of the guideto permit the plucking rolls to grip and pull the hairs out of the pelt.The pelt is manipulated in any desired manner in order to lbring all ofthe guard hairs of the pelt within the S9 range of action of theplucking rolls.

Referring to the drawings, particularly Figs. 1, 2 and 6, a pelt 1() ismoved across a guide 12 between the guide and a pair of plucking rolls14 and 16. The guide 12 con- 85 sists of a roll which is mounted in afixed nonrotating position between the arms of a yoke 15. rEhe yoke 15has a pivotal connection m each arm thereof yupon pins 16 which aremounted on upright standards 18, the stand- 9G ards constituting theside frames vofthe .machine. A handle or foot treadle 2() isconnected tothe center portion of the yoke and extends downwardly to thelioor v ofthe operating room in order that it may be operated 95 by the foot ofthe operator. o The guide roll 12 is normally held in a predeterminedfixed position against stops 22 by means of tension springs 24, whichare connected between the arms of the yokef15 and lugs 26 in the stand-100 tion7 the shaft 30 will rota e in the opiY ositc direction. rheshaft; 28 and 30 are so spaced that the rolls l-fland 16 are pressed to-Agether 1with a consi ble pressure. erably the bearings of the shafts 28and 3() may be adjusted, in order to Vary the pressure between the rollsand to provide tor Wear on the bearings. The shaft 28 has a portionextending' outwardly beyond the spur gear 32 upon which is mounted apulley Positive rotation oi' the pluc .ng rolls is obtained by means otan electric motor 3S which is connected with the driving shaft by meansof a belt l0 which lentends bet-Ween the pulley 3G on the shaft 28 and apnl mounted on a driving shaft lil of the motor. It has been found thata speed or" rotation o' the pluclzing rolls slightly less than the speedof' rotation of the usual electric motor, that is from 1200 to 1400 R.i/Lgives Very satisfactory results.

lVhen carrying on the tur pinching operation it has been found best tohave the operator to Work While in a standing positl Accordingly theuprights 18 and li mechanism are mounted upon table L the proper heightto support the We in a convenient position for the operator.Dr-terablf,Y the foot treadle 2O entends suo tially to the bottom or'the table legs in convenient position for operation by the operator.

0n most fur-bearing animals the hairs are considerably longer than theforming the fur of the pelt. According l the guard hairs can be raisedto a position substantially at right angles to the la ce the pelt, thesehairs will project tar enough 'from the main hair of the fur to permitthem to be gripped While being pulled out, anc f'll not grip and pullout the hair of the fur.

An important feature of the present invention consists in the method andapparatus for lifting and straightening the guard hairs as Well as thefur at the time the guard hairs are being plucked. in order to place the,rd hairs in position .so that they may all be moved. To accomplishthis, a high potential electrostatic current is passed between the Guideand the pluckinU rolls which acts to C D straighten and draw out thehair of the pelt between the guide and the pluclting rolls. Byadjustment of the guide the distance between the plucliing rolls and theguide may be varied so that the guard hairs may be passed into the gripof the plucling rolls to permit the hairs to be pulled out While at thesame time preventing the hair of the fur from coming Within the grip otlthe plucling rolls.

Tyileterring to the drawing an electrostatic generating machine 50 ismounted under the table 46. One terminal of the generating machine isconnected by means ot a conductor 52 with the guide 12 while the otherterminal oi the machine is connected by a conductor 54; with theplucking roll 14. The electrostatic generating machine has substantiallythe same construction and mode oii opera-t' i as the Well lrnou'nelectrostatic generating machines, with the exception that the presentmachine is made larger in order to dcvelop higher potentials. It hasbeen found that the bezat potential for operating on ifurs lies Withinthe limits of to 25500() volt-s. The amperage of the electrostaticgenerating machine is very lou', but this ampcrage may be varied Witl inreasonable limits by controlling the speed of rotation ot' thegenerating; discs.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2. generatinggj discs 5G are rotatably mountedon a hollow shaft 5S and generating discs GO are rotatablj,y mounted ona shaft G2. The shafts 5S and 62 are rotate( in the opposite directionby connections through means of belts 64- and (Sli respectively that aredriven through connections with the motor 38. The electro- .staticenergy generated by "ie machine is collected by means of collectors 68which in turn are connected with the terminals ot the generator. Noattempt is made to give a detailed description the construction and modeof operation of this machine becaT se it forms no specific feature otthe inv .ation and 'the machine construction and mode of operation aresubstantially the same as that of the machines Well known in the art.

In orner that a high electric potential. may be maintained between theplucking roll ift and the guide 12 it is necessary to provide thesurface of t-he roll and guide with a metallic conducting surface and tofully insulate the rolls from each other and from the ground in orderthat the roll and guide `will hold the potcnt-ial. The construction ofthe pluclcing rolls is shown more p: -ticularly in Fig. El. lluclingroll H con-, ts of a sha'lt 2S upon which is mounted an e ectricbaltelite insulation 70 and a cylindrical conducting su' T2. Thebalelite insulator 70 is preferably made up ot a series oit sections ofbakelite Which are slidably mounted over the shaft with the two endsections secured for rotation with the shaft by means of keys '-fl. Thesections of the balelite between the ends ot the metal tube 7 2 whichpreferably is made out of brass have a smaller outside diameter thansections 7G at each end ot the roll Where- Lessors by the outsidediameter of section 76 is substantially the same as the outsi lediameter of the metallic tube 72. The end sections 76 are hele inposition on the shaft 28 by means of balelite collars 78 which are liXedto the shaft 9.8 by means et' pins 80. A. brush 82 makes a slidablecontact with the cylinder 72 and is held in iixed position over the rolllil by an arm 84 secured to the upright 18. The arm 8dand holder of thebrus1 are fully insulatedwith balrelite to prevent grounding the rolllst.

rlfhe roll l@ consists of the shaft Si() and a rubber roll 86 tiredthereon. The rubber roll 86 consists ot a comparatively hard rubberwhich is fixed to the shaft tor rotation therewith by means of leys 88.rlhe rubber roll is maintained in lined position on the shaft by meansor balrelite collars 99 mounted each end ot the roll and lined inposition by means ot pins 92. rllhe shafts 28 and 30 are so mounted inthe uprights i8 that the r l 14 and 16 are in pressure tight cont'a ione another so that as the rolls rotate in opposite direction, the guardhairs are lirmly gripped between the metal surface ot the roll lei andthe rubber surface of the roll i6 in order to positively pull the iiirsout of the pelt passing over the guide l rlhe construction or' the guide1Q is shown more particularly in Figs. 4 and 5. rllhis guide consists ofa shaft 9-l, an electrical baltelite insulation covering thereon 96, andbrass conducting tubing 98 mounted ou the baitelite tubing 96 and abalrelite guard 100 mounted on tube 98. The balrelite tubing 96 ispreferably formed in sections and is held from rotation on shaft 9st bymeans of a lrey 102. The brass tubing which acts as the conductingsurface toi-.the electrostatic current lits tightly over the insulation96 and ma es a tongue and groove connection lO/l With each end otbakelite insulator 96 near each end of the guide. The insulator 96 isheld in lined position at the end of the shaft 94 by means of collars106 Which are secured to the shaft by means of pins 108. rlhe shaft 94is fixed into the ends ot the yoke l5 in a nonrotatable position. rihebakelite cylindrical member 100 covers only the rear tace ot the brassconducting tube 98 and is provided for the purpose of protecting theoperator and preventing the electrostatic change on the tube 98 frombecoming grounded. The charge on the tube 98 is conducted thereto bymeans of a terminal 110 as connected With the conductor 52.

ln view of the tact that the guard hair and tur hair on a pelt vary inlength with the diderent lrinds of animals and other conditions, it isnecessary that thc guide l2 should be made adjustable with reference tothe plucling rolls, in order to provide for the varying lengths of hair.Preferably the guard hairs should maire contact with the pinching rollll in order to assist the electrical potential in drawing the hair intosub stantial perpendicular position With reference to the plane surfaceot the pelt. lilith furs Which are badly matted it may in some instancesbe necessary to vary the electrostatic charge in order to straighten thehairs tor the purpose of pinching them. The charge is usually controlledby various forms of construction ot the electrostatic machines, and bycontrolling the rate or" rotation of the plates in the machines.lilurtherniore, the distance between the guide l2 and roll le has adecided ei'ilect on the manner in Which the hair may be straightened bythe electrostatic charge and therefore the guide may be adjusted, inorder to assist in drawing the hair into proper position.

rEhe higher voltage electrical potentials are very advantageous "aisingiair on the fur and accordinglj is citen advantageous to use voltagesthat will produce a spark longer than the length oi the between theguide l2 and the rolls lll-lo. To accomplish this the electrical potitial is applied to the shaft 94 and the conducting bra-ss tubing 98removed. lin these cases the thickness of the balrelite tubing 9G iscontrolled to give the necessary protection against sparking While usinghigher voltages.

The method orn the present invention nerinits the use of pinching r lsot small oiameter. The small diameter pluclring rolls are Veryadvantageous in gripping the guard hairs and permit the selectiveremoval of the guard hairs from the iur hair on the pelt.

lWhen the hair of a ur ecomes matted or disheveled, it injures tlleappearance of the fur. has been found that when a tur is passed betweenthe guide and the pluclring rolls all of the haz r on the pet isaffected by the electrostatic current. that it is raised and straigliteed, and experience has shown that When the hair has been raised andstraightened by the current it does not go bach to the matted position,but rather goes back to the normal position which the hair naturallyoccupies on the lire animal. This is l v decided advantage in thepresent i schine, in that the 'furs which h are been plucked llave avery tine apoearance and are greatly improved by the machine. ln tact,the appearance ot' most any 'tur may be improved by passing the turbetwee; the guide and the pluclri rolls, even though there are no guardhairs to be plucked.

rlhe electric energy for controlling or raising the hair on the tur it.is being operated upon may be generated by other means than the Wellknown electrostatic generating machine, as for ena e, by means ot a highvoltage transformer, and any of the Well known rectiliers. The Welllrnorvn high voltage Kenotron tubes used in conjunction With suitabletransformers are also suitable for generating the necessa ry electricalpotential for ra.: ing hair on the furs.

l claim:

l. A method oir plucking urs comprising continuously moving a pelt hav`ig tui' and interposed hair thereon into a Zone of a static electriccharge to cause the hair and tur to assume an outstanding position andgripping and pulling the hair While it is maintained in outstandingposition.

2. A method of pluclting furs comprising moving a pelt having fui' andinterposed hair thereon into a zone of a static electric charge of atleast 1000 volts to cause the hair and tur to assume an outstandingposition and removing the hair Whi le it is maintained in outstanding`position.

3. A. method of pluckiiig urs comprising moving a pelt having fur andinterposed long hairs thereon into a zone ot a static electric charge tocause the hairs and tur to assume an outstanding position, continuallygripping and pulling the hairs While maintained in outstanding positionand supporting the pelts so that only the hair Will be subjectet to thegripping and pulling operation.

fl. A method ot pinching -turs comprising moving a pelt having tur ainterposed hair thereon into a Zone of a static electric sliarge tocause the haii and fur to assume an outstanding position the voltage ofthe static charge being variable to provide a control of the position ofhair for different kinds of pelts and removing the hair While it ismaintained in outstanding position.

5. In a method of treating furs those steps ivliicn comprise movingsubstantially the entire suriace of a pelt having tur and interposedhair thereon into a Zone of electric charge of a voltage of 1000 to25,000 volts sufiicient to cause the hair and tur to assume outstandingpositions on the leather of the pelt, then withdrawing the pelt from theini'iuence o' the electric charge and permitting the hair and fur tosettle back to a natural position on the leather oic the pelt.

0. A plucling machine comprising an insulated guide, a pair ot insulated)'ilncling krolls nounted adjacent the guide, an electrostatic machinehaving neeative and posi tive terminals connected respectively7 with theguide and rolls, means to rotate the rolls in opposite directions'-,vitli an apilnoaching movement on the side of the rolls adjacent theguide.

7. The combination defined in claim G wherein a metallic conductingsurface or" the guide which is connected with a static charge is coveredwith an electrical insulator.

8. The combination dei-ined in claim G wherein one of the pluclzingrolls has an insulated metallic conducting surface and the other rollhas a yieldable surface.

9. A plucling machine comprising a guide having a metallic surfaceinsulated from WILLIAM K. iviLrsoN.

